Accidentally on Purpose
by virason
Summary: Albus and Rose become quick friends with one Scorpius Malfoy on the train (much to Ron's chagrin), while Fred and James live up to their names, finding themselves in Headmistress McGonagall's office more than she can keep track of. "What can I say, Minnie," James grinned. "Accidents happen," shrugged Fred. NextGen Hogwarts, main focus on year 5 and after. RW/SM and other pairings.
1. Chapter 1 - accidental overcrowding

**Hello friends! I'm back and ready to write some more and I really, really love next gen fanfics, so I thought I'd give it a shot myself! I also really love Rose/Scorpius, so you will definitely be seeing a lot of those two. I started out kind of fluffy with basic introductions, but I'll make it more detailed and from individual characters' perspectives. I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Complete and utter chaos. This was the only way to describe the Potter household the morning of James' first train ride on the Hogwarts Express. James was in the midst of an excited ramble to a patiently nodding along Teddy, while Ginny was frantically stuffing her son's socks in his trunk, Albus was misty-eyed, Lily had free-falling tears, and Harry couldn't believe his son was already eleven.

Harry shook his head, "James?" There was no response from James, but Teddy visibly perked up, looking hopeful that he would be relieved of current predicament. Harry let out a laugh and walked over, kneeling down.

He placed his hands on James' shoulders, "Buddy," James finally stopped mid-chatter, "I promise, you're gonna be fine. You're gonna get on that train, make a ton of friends, say hi to Uncle Neville, and have so much fun. Plus, Fred is gonna be with you the entire time."

"Daaad, I know, I'm just a bit worried."

"About what? Teddy, Victoire, and Dominique told you everything, and Vic's head girl, you can go to her for anything."

"I know," James took a deep breath, "But what if I can't find Fred on the train, or Fred finds cooler friends, and doesn't want to sit with me on the train, or we don't get sorted into the same house, or we do get sorted into the same house, but Fred doesn't want to be friends with me," he took a deep breath, "you know," he said looking up at his Dad, "because he finds cooler friends, or Fre-" Ginny, who'd finally managed to stuff all of James' clothes into his trunk, ruffled his head.

"If there's one thing I know, it's that there is nothing in this world that can separate you and Fred. You're basically attached at the hip!"

"What? Mum that was one time! It was an accident!" At this, Teddy's eyes widened comically as he made an "x" with his arms and shook his head while Al did a face palm.

Ginny looked confused for a moment before her eyes narrowed. "James?" James bounced on the balls of his feet before quickly looking at the clock and exclaiming "Oh look at the time, Mummy dearest, we had better get going, we can't have your favorite son miss the train!" To which Al let out an indignant "Hey!" and Lily looked at her brothers before repeating a "Hey!" Al turned to Lily, "No, no, Lils, James said Mum's favorite _son_, you're not her son." Al's comments did not have the intended effect on Lily, whose eyes welled up and, with an exaggerated frown on her face, hugged Ginny's leg.

"Mummy, _I'm_ your favorite, right?"

* * *

At this moment, Harry could not imagine someone having a more chaotic morning. A couple minutes' drive away, Angelina Johnson-Weasley was having similar problems.

"Roxie! Wake up! How are you still asleep? We have to go drop Freddie off!"

"Mphmh"

"Roxie!"

"Fine," she mumbled, dramatically throwing her leg off the bed and rolling off.

George let out a laugh at his daughter, scooping her up into a hug, stage-whispering, "Roxie, wanna slip some WWW supplies in Freddie's trunk before Mummy finds out?"

Roxie's eyes suddenly popped open, fully awake as she gave a big grin and ran towards the storage room.

"Hey!" Angie exclaimed, "I heard that!" But even she couldn't keep a grin off her face; her baby was going to wreck an absolute havoc on Hogwarts.

* * *

"Remind me again, Potter, why are we sitting in a car?"

"It'll make the experience more fun for the kids, Gin."

"Easy for you to say, Harry, you've got a seat all to yourself, you selfish git," Ginny complained, motioning to herself and Angie, who were stuffed in the back two rows of the minivan with a total of eight kids and an owl, including Rose and Hugo, who had insisted on coming to send their cousins off. When Ginny suggested they say their goodbyes at home, out of her fear of overcrowding, both Rose and Hugo put on their well mastered puppy faces, saying they needed to provide moral support for Al and Lily, to which Ginny knew she didn't stand a chance.

This is exactly how Ginny and Angelina found themselves in the middle of the Potter minivan with Lily, Roxy, Hugo, and Teddy, while Fred and James were in the back seats, with both Rose and Al, while James and Fred's trunks and their shared owl, Butternut, sat in the trunk.

"Well, Gin," George turned back, smirking, "maybe next time, you should learn from your big bro and yell 'shotgun'."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, "maybe next time," she said, pursing her lips, "you should get your own bloody car."

* * *

After a whole lot of tears and goodbyes, as well as listing some items in a panic that would need to be owl-d in later, James and Fred were off.

The next four years were an absolute blur.

Fred, along with James, had been almost immediately sorted into Gryffindor, much to James' immense relief. With them, their Professor Longbottom's son, Finley had also made his way into his father's house. One surprising event this year was the sorting of muggle-born triplets, all of whom ended up in three different houses. Evans, Isabella walked to Gryffindor grinning, followed by her sister, Evans, Reyna, who walked to Ravenclaw pouting at her sister, and finally, Evans, Sophia who unexpectedly walked to Hufflepuff while looking longingly towards her sisters. _At least they're not identical_, thought McGonagall as the sorting then ended with Zabini, Alfred, who was welcomed to Slytherin.

Also surprisingly, this year, an unheard-of number of students had been sorted into Hufflepuff and Slytherin, leaving Gryffindor and Ravenclaw with only six new students each. Along with the three boys, three girls, Isabella Evans, and twins Ava and Anna Zhang, had also joined the house. In Ravenclaw, however, there was only one girl, Reyna Evans, who looked a bit worried about this after her sorting. Both Neville and Flitwick were a bit put out at their low number of incoming first years, but McGonagall, on the other hand, was relieved. She had hoped that a low number of Gryffindors meant less trouble; she had thought wrong.

In their first year alone, James, Fred, and to everyone's surprise, even Finley to an extent, had caused too much chaos for Headmistress McGonagall to handle. So, after giving this a lot of thought, and after a particularly nasty incident with dungbombs and a missing toilet seat, she decided to pair all of the Gryffindor classes with the Ravenclaws, hoping their focus would influence the Gryffindors in her favor; once again, she was wrong. What McGonagall was dealing with now, was some slightly mischievous, highly focused Ravenclaws, and one slightly annoyed Ms. Evans.

In their second year, the numbers seemed to have evened out a bit for the new first-years, especially considering both Al and Rose had been sorted into Ravenclaw, along with their new and unexpected friend, Scorpius Malfoy. Fred couldn't wait to send a letter to his Uncle Ron. McGonagall, having learned from mistake of placing all the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws in a separate group, decided that students would randomly be assigned to a section of a class, at least until the classes become more difficult during sixth and seventh year.

Third year brought many new excitements for the boys. For Finley, this meant that he was no longer the only one with a professor-parent; Olivia Longbottom, a Hufflepuff like her mum, had joined him at Hogwarts. Along with her, Dominique Weasley and Louisa Wood were both sorted into Slytherin.

The Gryffindor quidditch team suddenly had a huge opening, as three seventh years had graduated, for a chaser and two beaters, which Isabella, Fred, and James respectively happily filled.

* * *

As fourth year started, Fred and James were wrecking as much havoc as ever, while Finley walked the fine line between creating chaos and being studious, or at least trying to; his father _was_ a professor, after all. Of all the Gryffindor males, he was a definitive favorite, as at least he tried to keep his friends in line. Maybe not the line McGonagall preferred, but a line, nonetheless.

Another increasingly common occurrence was the bickering between James and his fellow Gryffindor, Isabella. Fred thought they had an odd dynamic, as they were friends, mainly due to their love, or better yet, obsession, for quidditch, but when they argued, people would not believe it was an argument between friends. They really just didn't get along.

After a particularly heated argument in the middle of fourth year, Fred swore he caught the two arguing whether or not Headmistress McGonagall's Animagus had markings around her eyes where her glasses would normally be. For three and a half hours. No one believed him, telling him he needed to stop exaggerating, as James and Isabella were perfectly normal, talking quidditch strategies the next morning at breakfast.

"Oh, for the hundredth time, I swear guys, they argued non-stop last night," Fred complained, while scarfing down his toast.

"And for the hundredth time, Fred, you're just saying that 'cause you slept in. Again," Reyna said, sharing a look with Sophia, both of whom had become regulars at the Gryffindor table, "I'm not buyin' any more of your excuses."

Finley laughed while Fred sighed dramatically, "Did I sleep in? Of course I did, what's new? But they just never shut up!" With that, he turned to his cousin and friend, "Oi! What're you two so chipper about? Tell 'em how late we were up _talking_ last night."

Isabella and James pulled an innocent look and glanced at each other in faux confusion.

"Us?" started Isabella, "We would _never_ do that to you, mate."

"Yeah Fred, look at these two! They're the picture of innocence," Finley added as James nodded along.

"As if this face could ever do anything wrong," Sophia added, ruffling James' hair.

Fred looked up at Reyna pleadingly.

"Come _on_, Fred. Should I believe my one of my two bestest, most fantastically amazing sisters in the history of the universe," motioning towards Isabella, who smiled brightly, "or some sleep-deprived rando?"

Fred frowned and Reyna couldn't control herself anymore and she burst out laughing and squeezed Fred's cheeks together.

"Awww Freddie, we're just pulling your leg," she said as Fred's ears tinted pink and he gave another exaggerated sigh, "We all know how annoyingly obnoxious these two are," and, turning to the two in question, she added "next time why don't you two fight in the common room like normal people so poor Freddie and Finley here can get their beauty rest?" while whacking each of their heads with her planner, her Gaelic accent becoming stronger as her volume increased.

"Yes mum, sorry mum," James saluted at Reyna.

"Mum? I'll show you mum. How about I tell your mum? I'm sure she'd love to hear what her amazing son is up to, don't you think?"

"Nope my dearest Ravenclaw princess, please don't bring my poor mother into this, I'll do anything," he babbled.

Sophia laughed as James paled until she realized she'd forgotten her own planner. "Oh sod it _all_ I've forgotten my planner again," she looked at James with pity, "why don't you two walk me to my common room and then we can go to potions together?" she asked, nodding at Izzy and James, who got up and ran out within the blink of an eye.

"That's what I thought, Potter," Reyna responded, raising a smug eyebrow at Fred.

"Eh I think she's more of a queen," Fred commented as James and Izzy ran out, grinning at Reyna who rolled her eyes at the joke, "ya know, cause that's what your name means."

"Astute observation as always, Mr. Weasley," Reyna complemented sarcastically as Finley snorted, "Good one, mate."

Reyna then proceeded to grab her planner and the two boys, "Come on slowpokes, they're gonna beat us to class."

"So," Finley whispered to Fred, grinning and waggling his eyebrows, "Freddie, huh?"

Fred's ears once again gave him away, pinkening almost immediately. _Stupid ears_, he thought. "Oh, shut it, Fin."

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it! Please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts/suggestions/things you might want to see in future chapters! Thanks for reading:)**

**~Risa**


	2. Chapter 2 - accidental ideas

**Hey guys! Hope you like the last chapter! For this one, I'm changing it a bit to tell the story from the perspective of a certain character as we get further into plot. The italicized sentences are meant to be thoughts. Can't wait to hear what you guys think!**

* * *

Chapter II–accidental ideas

The next morning, Reyna found herself at the Gryffindor portrait, bright and early.

"Ashwinder," she cheerfully said to the fat lady, who nodded at her sleepily and let her enter. Even she knew Reyna was an honorary Gryffindor, of sorts.

Not unexpectedly, she found herself in a pretty silent common room, except for the twins Isabella shared a dormitory with and a couple of younger years. She made her way up the stairs to the fourth year girls' dorm and swung the door open. She didn't exactly bother knocking anymore.

"Oh Izzy," she muttered, grabbing Isabella's Gryffindor scarf, which had been hanging proudly on the wall, and throwing it at Isabella's head.

"Wake up! Wake UP!" she screamed, shaking Isabella awake.

"Three more minutes."

"No, it's our last day of fourth year! Our _last_ last day of fourth year ever! Do you really want ta be late on the _last_ last day of fourth year, Izzy?"

"Relax, Reyna, come on go to sleep," Isabella responded, scooting over to make room in her bed while tugging at Reyna's arm.

"Oh no you don't," Reyna reprimanded, brushing her sister off "you've got ten minutes to get ready and meet me downstairs or I will _not_ save you any breakfast."

Isabella grumbled.

"What was that, luv?"

"Nothing, nothing, just getting up."

"That's what I thought," Reyna smirked, closing the door behind her as she left.

"Now, time for the boys," Reyna muttered to herself as she walked to their room, rubbing her hands together dramatically.

Once again, she swung the door open, "oh you have got to be kidding me," she said as she surveyed the room.

All three were sound asleep and, from what it looked like, only Fin had the sense to pack the day before, knowing they all had plans tonight.

Reyna whispered a quick _sonorous_ charm to make herself even louder as she yelled "wake up" repeatedly while waving her wand and muttering spells to start packing Fred and James' trunks.

Fred, who had been lying haphazardly, half off his bed, became completely off his bed as he slid off with the covers at the sudden, booming noise, looking around wildly until he saw her. "Well good morning my little _Rey_ of sunshine," Fred greeted.

"Flatter will get you nowhere, Freddiekins."

James, on the other hand, yanked his covers up when he saw Reyna.

"Reyna! You're a _girl_," James whispered with wide eyes.

"Why, thank you for the clarification, James, I had no idea!" Reyna responded sarcastically, "tell me, are you _also_ a girl?" motioning towards his covers, which were now pulled up to his neck.

James blushed before relaxing his grasp on the covers and sliding back into them while Fred laughed from the ground.

Finley was lazily smiling at the sight in front of him.

"Why don't you yell at Finley?" James grumbled.

"Because _Finley_, unlike you two knobs, is a good lad who packs his own things," Reyna narrowed her eyes at James. "Alright, chop chop," she snapped her fingers, "see you downstairs in five!"

"Yes boys," Fin agreed, "be more like me," waggling his eyebrows before James grabbed a pillow and threw it at Finley's head as Reyna left.

After shutting the door, Reyna headed back to Ravenclaw to grab her books, where she heard Rose complaining to Al and Scorpius about lack of sufficient sleep. Reyna laughed internally at the Weasleys/Potters and their sleeping habits before grabbing the three of them and lugging them to the great hall to meet Sophia.

* * *

Fourth year had gone by as quickly as the last, and before they knew it, the soon to be OWL students were about to sleep for the last time as fourth years before they would be on their way home in the Hogwarts Express.

The group, which had now expanded to encompass students from multiple houses (mainly the Weasley/Potter cousins and whomever they bring), was currently camped out by the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room. It had become a kind of tradition for the group to stay up as late as they could, talking until everyone was soundly asleep the night before they boarded the Hogwarts Express. This year they decided to give the Ravenclaw common room a chance.

Lily and Hugo, who were just about to complete their first year, were perched on the handles of a sofa while Max Wood, a second year Gryffindor, sat between them, and Olivia Longbottom, a second year Hufflepuff, sat on the ground in front of them, while Max handed out jelly beans from a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans.

"Max, you had better not be giving me all the trick beans on purpose!" Hugo grumbled, "I've just had my _third_ vomit flavored one. If I vomit, I will be vomiting directly onto you."

"Wow, Max must really hate you, I've gotten so many strawberry ones. And I really love strawberry. I mean I really, _really_\- "

"We know, Lily, you really love strawberry," Al sighed, "you and Rose and Reyna."

"And, you're not really helpin', Lils," Max shot her a look, before winking at her after he made sure Hugo wasn't looking. Lily looked like she could barely contain her smile, grinning ear to ear as she popped another strawberry jelly bean into her mouth. "Really," he continued, patting Hugo's knee, "just bad luck, Hu."

Rose shook her head fondly at her brother, before pursing her lips.

"Oh Merlin," Al sighed again, even more dramatically.

"What now, Al?" his 6th year Hufflepuff cousin, Molly, grumbled from her couch, where she was trying to spend some quality time with her boyfriend, Gerald Carmichael, before leaving tomorrow.

"Rosie's got her thinking face on."

"Well in that case, oh Merlin indeed," Molly replied.

"Nah, it's nothin'," Rose said, a bit dejectedly.

"Well obviously it is _something_," Scorpius commented as Rose swung her feet onto his lap and put her head back on Al's shoulder.

Scorpius made a noise objection as her feet landed in his lap, but immediately accepted his situation as Rose stuck out her bottom lip in a pout before saying, "I just wish that I could've been in the same house as Hugo, you know? I've basically spent my whole life, at least that I can remember, constantly around him. And then first and second year, it made sense that we had to be apart because I was here, and he was home. But now? It just sucks cause he's so close, but we don't really spend much time together because I'm here and he's in the Gryffindor common room," she paused, "sorry for the word vomit. I just wish there were more days like _this_ during the actual school year."

"I miss Al, too," Lily piped in. She had the eyes of a hawk, especially if it involved gossip. "I mean, James is always there. I mean _always_. Even when I don't want to see him, he's just _alway_-"

"Oi!" James yelled, "I'm right here!"

"See? He's always there!" Lily continued, "but I never get to see Al. Sometimes I wish we were still at home; we'd get to see each other whenever we want for however long we want, _and_ we wouldn't have to worry about stupid homework."

"You know what would be nice?" Asked Reyna.

"What?" a couple people chimed in.

"A joint common room. I mean, think about it," she continued, leaning back and running a hand through her dark, curly brown hair, "your problems would be solved, and we wouldn't be restricted to just the library or a courtyard to be together. _And_ I wouldn't be completely alone in Ravenclaw anymore," she added with a short laugh, pouting towards her sisteres.

"Maybe we should talk to Flitwick," Rose said, "because I think that's a brilliant idea. Plus," she added as an afterthought, "Flitwick absolutely adores us."

Reyna laughed at that, "he really does. Remember when he found out we were friends?"

"He looked super overjoyed, didn't he?"

"I think there was a point he hoped we were related-"

"Especially because of our hair," Rose continued, reaching over to pull at one of Reyna's dark curls.

"But then he realized, you're a Weasley, and I'm clearly not," Reyna finished with a laugh.

"Ugh I wish you were a year younger! Then we could've shared a dormitory. And I wouldn't be stuck with these two," she said, jabbing her fingers at Al and Scorpius, "every moment of every day for the rest of my life."

"I find it funny that you say that while using me as a foot-rest," commented Scorpius.

"And me as back support!" Al exclaimed in mock fury.

In response, Rose just made herself more comfortable.

"Ugh don't even get me started on those five in the boys' dorm. For Ravenclaws, they are incredibly idiotic."

"It's funny, aren't all their names towards the end of the alphabet?" Fred asked as Reyna nodded thoughtfully, "maybe the sorting hat just threw the last five boys in Ravenclaw so our year would have more than one Ravenclaw," Fred laughed.

"That's gorgeous. Absolutely magnificent, lucky me," Reyna deadpanned.

"No, think about it, you're the only one worthy of being in Ravenclaw in our _entire_ year!"

"I guess. But I don't want to be! I just wanna be in the same house as you guys," Reyna pouted, much like Rose did before, "but I still want to be a Ravenclaw," she added as an afterthought, "ya know? Basically, I would be overjoyed if we all lived together but still were in our own houses. Is that _really_ so much to ask for?"

"Huh. I can see why Flitwick thought you two are related," Scorpius said in response to the pouting.

"Shut it, Scor," Reyna said, rolling her eyes as Rose looked at him like she wanted to hit him but decided she was too lazy and simply gave him a light kick in the stomach.

"Ouch both of you, that hurts. _Here_," Scorpius pointed at his heart.

"Why are all your friends so dramatic, Al," James asked.

"You're one to talk. Drama queen," Al retorted.

"I for one," Sophia started, "really enjoy the drama. Keep it coming, James."

James chuckled brightly, "only for you, Soph."

Fin, who'd been silently enjoying all the chatter, thought to himself that he would also definitely enjoy more of this. He made a mental note to remind Rose and Reyna of it when they all came back next year. Well, he would make a mental note, but unfortunately, he had inherited his Dad's horrible memory. He'd just have to remember to write it down. Yeah, he thought, that'll work.

Olivia, looked at him and laughed, "look guys, Fin's makin' a mental note again."

There was a collective groan as Fin glared at his sister.

"Fin, you _know_ your mental notes don't work. You _must_ know that by now," Isabella.

"Come on you guys, I'm not that bad," Fin tried.

"Did you already make a plan to write down what your mental note was?" James asked.

"Nooo," Fin answered unconvincingly.

Sophia snorted, "we'll take that as a yes."

"Fin?" Reyna asked after a brief pause.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Did you already forget what you were gonna write down?"

"Yes ma'am."

And that was that.

* * *

_Al_

Al was not in a good mood. First, he had fallen asleep at the early a.m. instead of the nice p.m he usually preferred. Second, he had fallen asleep a couch, one that was a little too squishy for his taste, especially compared to the nice, firm, spacious bed in his room. Instead, he was on a pretty tiny sofa with not one, but two other growing individuals. Lucky for him, when he woke up, he had somehow accumulated a fourth person on the squishy couch. It was not unexpected; Lily had always liked to snuggle.

"How do we all always manage to fit into one compartment?" Al questioned irritably, "we're bloody _adding_ people."

"Don't question it, my little Ravenclaw, just got with it," James sleepily responded, patting Al's shoulder consolingly.

"Let me tell you how this works, mate," Scorpius butted in, sticking his head out to look over at Al. Rose squeezed herself back into the seat to accommodate her friends enough to make eye contact as they spoke. "We are being squished more and more each year – no each train ride. And each year we stay up, later and later talking. So now, we've got an insane number of sleep-deprived idiots in one compartment. And this will continue, each year. At least until you lot have managed to pull in half of Hogwarts' students." Scorpius huffed and settled back in against the seat.

Al was about to respond, but Rosie beat him to it. "Well I for one happen to be quite comfortable," she said, smirking slightly as she rested her head on Al's shoulder and adjusted herself even more, snugly settling between her best mates.

Al was just about to respond to this new development when he was bested. Again. This time by Scorpius. "Well of course you're comfortable."

_Oh boy, here we go_, Al thought. He didn't have a comment for this one.

Rose tried to cross her arms, but due to her current predicament with a very limited range of motion, she struggled a bit, but then resorted to a glare at Scorpius. "What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned threateningly as Al got a face full of her unruly hair.

Al sputtered and moved his head back to rid himself of her curls, knocking his head into Olivia's. Hard.

"OW!" Liv turned towards him clutching her head, eyes narrowed, "Watch it, Al!"

"Sorry Liv," he grimaced as Olivia huffed and returned to her conversation with Lily as though nothing had happened. _He just couldn't win, could he?_

Meanwhile, Rose and Scorpius were still going. Al seemed to have missed a bit of the conversation, but knew he'd catch on pretty quickly. Rose and Scorp were predictable like that.

"Well 'snot my fault you're so bloody tiny!"

Rose let out a disbelieving shriek. Al widened his eyes. _Oh no he did not just take a jab at her height. _That was the one thing no one would bug Rose or his Aunt Hermione about.

"I am not! I'm perfectly average height, Scor!" Scorpius let out a snort. "I am! It's not my fault you randomly got a foot taller last summer!"

"I did not!"

"Did too! I could hardly recognize you at the platform on September 1st! Remember?"

"Awww come on, Rosie, don't exaggerate!"

"I am _not_," Rose indignantly continued, "first, you leave me for a whole month to go to France and then suddenly my best mate's as tall as a troll!"

"I wish _this_ best mate would be as tall as a troll," Al mumbled. He, unfortunately, had yet to hit that particular growth spurt.

Rose turned to him with a pout, giving Scorp a mouthful of her hair. _Haha, git._ Al thought, _serves you right for going and gettin' all tall without me._ But Scorpius, unlike Al, didn't bother moving her hair. Nor did he scoot away from her towards his window for that matter. He just smiled fondly.

Al drew his eyebrows together.

_Interesting._

"Oh Al, don't worry, I'd rather not you ever be as tall as this oaf anyways," Scorpius let out an offended "Hey!" as Rose continued, "My neck literally aches if I have to stare up at him too long!"

"Alright then, Rosie, how about we both get tall this summer?" Al suggested.

Rose grinned, nodding her head happily.

"No!" Scorpius suddenly exclaimed.

Several heads turned to look for who had yelled.

Scorpius smiled sheepishly, blushing ever so slightly. Seeing there was no interesting yelling match waiting to happen, the nosy bunch went back to their conversations. Except for Lily, of course, Al noticed. She really loved her gossip. Even if it wasn't really gossip.

Rose looked up at Scorp expectantly while Al stuck his head out at him.

Scorp cleared his throat, "No, not _no_, just no as in you don't need to get any taller, Rosie. I was, um, just messin' with ya," he paused to swallow, "totally normal height."

Rose giggled at his obvious discomfort as Al thought he might save his mate from further embarrassment.

"Me too, right Scorp? I think I'm quite perfect just the way I am," Al grinned.

"Nah mate, you could use a couple inches," Scorp grinned back.

Rose laughed and slapped Scorp's shoulder lightly, before turning to Al "poor Al."

_Poor Al, indeed_, Al thought.

Scorp sent him a look over Rose's head in silent thanks, exaggeratedly mouthing "my savior" at him.

Rose had now engaged in a conversation with Sophia and Reyna by now, and Al deemed it to be safe to talk to Scorp without her questioning them.

"Wrong Potter, Scorp. You're thinkin' of my dad."

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review!**

**~Risa**


	3. Chapter 3 - accidental revelations

**Here's chapter 3! I hope you guys like it :)**

* * *

Chapter III – accidental revelations

_James_

James had a problem. Every once in a while, he felt a bit claustrophobic. He knew it was a bit barmy for him to have a problem like this, as it was always obnoxiously loud and crowded when you're related to the Weasleys. So, partway through the train ride, James stepped away from his game of exploding snap with Fred, Hugo, Fin, Dom, and Max saying he wanted to go look for the trolley to help his sweet tooth.

He closed the compartment door behind him and took in a deep breath in attempt to lower his heart rate. He just didn't understand why he kept feeling like this. He loved quidditch, for Merlin's sake! Nothing made him happier than when the crowd started chanting or yelling during a game.

James was still lost in thought when he felt something bump into him. He shook himself out of his musings as if there were water in his ears. Meanwhile, the person he had collided into seemed to be rambling an apology.

"-sorry. Merlin, I feel like such a klutz, I'm so sorry-" there was a pause, "Oh James! Fancy seeing you out of the compartment," the girl, who he now realized was, Sophia, laughed. "You look a bit pale, James, are you feeling alright?" she asked, tentatively raising her hand to feel his forehead.

"No worries, Soph, I'm fine," he responded, his voice cracking as he said "fine."

"The noise in the compartment's getting to you too, huh? I just went to the loo for a break," she chuckled. "I don't know how we're going ta fit any more people in that box."

"Yeah."

"Come on," she tugged on his arm, "let's just walk in the aisle, get some fresh air in you."

James swallowed and smiled gratefully.

She walked them to a more secluded part of the train before asking him if he was alright again.

"I don't know what's wrong, exactly," he started nervously, clamping his hands together, "sometimes I just," he huffed, "sometimes when there's too many people or too much noise I just feel like I can't breathe. It doesn't even make sense! Where did this come from!? I grew up with, like, a billion other people! Why is it that I don't _like_ crowds?"

"James-"

"I should _love_ crowds; my family is a crowd! And, I play quidditch! I love it when people cheer for our team, and that's _also_ a crowd. I just don't understand-"

"James!"

James swallowed, and to his utmost horror, he felt his eyes prickling and watery.

"Sorry Soph-"

"Oh hush, none of that! James it's okay. Really," she consoled, putting an arm on his shoulder gently, rubbing comforting circles on his upper arm. James looked straight at her, feeling a bit vulnerable. He didn't know if he cared much for this particular feeling. "Big crowds and loads of noise are hard for a lot of people, it's totally understandable to feel like this James. Just because you have to deal with it a lot doesn't mean you have to be comfortable with it."

James nodded along dumbly as she continued. "As for quidditch, loud noises are there and crowds are too, sure, but you're isolated in your own little game by that point, aren't you?" He nodded again. "So, you probably zone out the noise while your focusing on the match, right? So that's a completely different scenario. You're not a part of that crowd, James. Does that make sense?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah it kind of does I think." She smiled up at him. "How is it that you always seem to know exactly what to say?" James asked.

Sophia laughed, "I don't James. I've usually got no clue, actually. I just kinda know how you're feeling cause Reyna has a hard time dealing with chaos and too much stress. She also needs to go out and breathe for a bit to calm herself down."

"Really?" James asked and she nodded back at him. "I just thought that everyone else has got their shit together."

"Nah, mate," she looked up at him slyly, "everyone's just fakin' it till they make it, ya know?"

James grinned brilliantly back at her, happy that he was breathing normally again. He realized her hand was still on his arm and glanced at it and then at her. Sophia blushed and looked away as she dropped her hand, but he caught it, entwining their fingers. "Now, let's go look for that trolley."

James swung their arms back and forth dramatically as they walked when Sophia suddenly looked up at him.

"James, can I ask you a question?"

"Just did," he winked at her.

"No, come on I'm serious."

"No, love, that's me," he grinned at her.

She let out a frustrated growl and he laughed, "Soph, you're making this too easy." She looked at him exasperatedly. "Okay, okay, tell Uncle Jamesie what's on your mind."

"Do you think I can try out for the Hufflepuff quidditch team? I mean, I don't think I'm nearly as good you, or Izzy, or Fred," she paused, "or Max for that matter. That kid is some kind of quidditch genius, isn't he?"

James laughed, "you should meet his dad."

Sophia looked confused and stopped walking, "What? Why?"

_Oh right, she's muggle-born_ he thought. "His dad, Oliver Wood? He was captain of Puddlemere at one point."

"Oh! Wow, I did not see that coming. But I should've. So, he must've been playing since he was in his nappies, huh?" she frowned a bit and looked away.

"Soph, I've seen you play before, remember? That pickup game we played outside at the end of last year?" She nodded. "You were _good_. _Really _good. I just thought you didn't care too much for quidditch."

Sophia laughed, "just cause I'm not as obsessive as Izzy is doesn't mean I don't enjoy the game, James."

James smiled at her, "why are you getting second thoughts about trying out, then?"

She huffed and bit the side of her bottom lip. "The chaser is just graduated, so I know there's an opening," she paused, "but there're just so many Hufflepuffs you are already talking about trying out. I just don't want to embarrass myself," she blushed again.

"I think you should do it, Soph. I don't want you to regret it. And, I think you can kick those other tossers' arses at it."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay," she grinned, "I'll do it!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit! Just play against Izzy over the summer. I'd say play with Reyna too, but we all know how much she hates flying. I can almost hear her say it now-"

"Broomsticks are only good for two things: sweeping and beating people up," they chorused together before chuckling.

"How are the three of you even related," James laughed, "other than the fact that you look amazingly similar, of course."

"Uh, James?"

"Yeah?"

"I have just realized I've got a bit of a gigantic problem with your advice."

"What?"

"I can't play quidditch over break."

"Why not?"

"I live in a muggle neighborhood, James. I can't exactly play in my backyard." Sophia looked up with a wild look in her eyes. "I don't even own a broom! Even if I did, 'snot like I can play in the house, now can I?"

"Ah, bollocks."

"Oh, James, what am I going to do? Izzy made it on the team without practice, but that's cause she's a natural," she shrieked as she put both of her hands on his shoulders, shaking him.

"Never mind, that's how you three are related. All three of you are incredibly dramatic. Just like everyone else in my life," James huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, includin' you!"

"You got me there, Soph. How about this, you come over to my house, or Fred's house, or Rosie's house, or the Burrow, or-"

"Okay, okay, any family member's house," Sophie added in impatiently.

"We've got tons of extra brooms! You can just come play pick-up games with us for practice, all three of you can come this summer! Ohhh it'll be so much fun! Everyone else'll be there anyways probably and –"

"That _does_ sound like a lot of fun."

"It will be!" James was practically glowing with excitement at this point. They were looking for the trolley, but sweets were the last thing James needed right now.

Sophia looked at him. Her shoulders had dropped a little. "I want to, but I'm not sure if Dad'll be okay with it."

James frowned at that. He'd never heard of someone's Dad being that restrictive over holidays before. "Why wouldn't he be?" James questioned.

"He just," she paused like she was trying to find the right phrasing. "He's just like that. He doesn't really like it when we leave the house over breaks. Especially if it's last minute like this."

"It's okay, we'll just ask him at the station! No one's makin' you lot come right away, you can come in a couple weeks or so, right?"

"I know he's gonna say no, so why even ask?"

"I can help you convince him! We'll get the whole lot to ask him with us. Plus," he grinned, "look at this face." James pointed with both fingers to either side of his cheeks. "No one can say no to this face."

"That _is_ true…okay."

"Brilliant!"

* * *

_Scorpius_

Scorpius was just minding his business, much like always, resting his eyes and slouching in his seat. He saw the compartment door open out of his peripheral vision and closed his eyes again. He was still absolutely exhausted from the night before.

Just as he closed his eyes, however, chaos ensued. He opened his eyes blearily, and from what he could make out in the mess of limbs and red hair, James and Sophia had just returned with _a lot_ of trolley sweets. He closed his eyes again. He didn't need to watch to know who what taking what.

Max would've immediately grabbed Bertie Bott's to split with Lily and Hugo, while Dominique would have grabbed a bundle of licorice wands, as would Fin. Molly would have taken a single chocolate frog, hoping to get another one of her either her aunt or uncles to then give to any of the Potters or Rose and Hugo. Sophie and Izzy would grab chocolate coins and exploding bon bons, splitting them between the two. Rose and Reyna would immediately grab and open their sugar quills and Al would close his eyes and grab something randomly; he was just too indecisive sometimes. James would grab a candy necklace while Fred would delve into his favorite peppermint toads. He, on the other hand, would wait out the chaos and then decide if anything left over was worth grabbing. If not, he'd just grab one of Rose's sugar quills; she usually snatched an extra for him.

The Weasleys were a wild bunch. And he absolutely loved it.

Then he felt a hard poke in his side. He opened his eyes warily to, without a doubt, see Rose looking at him while sucking one of her sugar quills. He grinned sleepily before raising an eyebrow at her to ask what she wanted. When she didn't quite respond, he felt his eyes closing again only to find himself on the receiving end of another hard poke. This one hurt.

"Ow!" Scorpius started, "Rose what the bloody he-" but before he could finish, she had stuck one of her extra sugar quills into his mouth.

"We need to get some energy in you! Stop being a sleepy baby."

Scorpius saw no need to respond, so he kept the quill in his mouth and closed his eyes once again as he put his head on her shoulder.

He heard Rose huff, but she let him attempt to doze off. It had only felt like a couple minutes before he was woken up by the lurch of the train coming to a halt.

"Wake up sleepy head," he heard Rose say softly as she ruffled his hair lightly.

He yawned and blinked away the water in his eyes as he clumsily got up, then giving Rose a hand to pull her up as well.

After what seemed like forever, everyone had finally managed to get themselves, their pets, and then luggage off of the train.

Rose turned to look at him. "Stay _right_ here," she commanded, sprinting off to her parents with her luggage. He saw her give both of them a quick, tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before she said something and turned around, sprinting straight towards him. At full force. His eyes widened and he made sure he was steady on his feet. He was glad he did, as Rose barreled at him, flinging her arms around his middle and squeezing herself to him soundly.

He put his arms around her too, but a little bit more gently while resting his chin on the crown of her head. Then he heard a sniffle.

"Rose-" he started as the sniffle got louder. "I'll see you in a month, Rosie. It'll go by so quickly, I promise."

"You didn't even talk to me the entire train ride, you just slept," she mumbled against his shirt. "And now," she continued, "you're going to leave me all alone for a month while you go off doing Merlin knows what with Merlin knows which random French girl, and before I know it, you'll have replaced Al and me."

"Oh Rosie," he sighed, dragging out the "o" in her name, "when will you realize that no one in this world can ever replace the two of you. And I'm not planning on meeting any random French girl, I'm just visiting my cousins, remember? My mum's sister lives there and all." She nodded against his chest. "And, we both know you're not going to be alone. At all. Ever. All summer. In fact, I think the only time you get a breather is when you go to the loo."

Rose laughed and looked up at him, hurriedly wiping away the stray tears and clearing her throat. "I don't even know if I'll be alone in the loo if Lily's around."

Scorpius grinned at that, shaking his head fondly. "Come on, say hi to mum and dad before you go," he ordered, grabbing her hand.

Rose smiled unnervingly. Almost wickedly. "Ohhh no you don't, what are you gonna tell them, Rose?" he asked her, knowing he would be shown the response seconds later.

Just then, his parents came into view as Rose cheerily said, "Hi Mrs. Malfoy, hi Mr. Malfoy!" as both of them gave her a one-armed hug. They exchanged pleasantries before Rose sneakily glanced at him. _Here we go_, he thought. "Mrs. Malfoy," he heard her start, "Scorpius is so smart, you know," as his mother smiled, know Rose was about to reveal something. "Would you like to know," she started slowly, before rapidly adding, "what Scorp got on his last herbology assignment? He got a D as in dreadful!" She exclaimed with mirth before giving Scorpius a quick hugh, mumbling "See ya, Scorp," and running off to her parents and Hugo all in the blink of an eye.

Scorpius looked up mournfully at his parents. "I absolutely _hate_ herbology. I don't understand plants and they don't understand me." He saw his father holding a similar expression as him while his mum seemed to be covering up a smile behind her hand. "At least I got a D, if Professor Longbottom didn't help me out, I _know_ I would've gotten a Troll for sure!"

That last comment earned him a laugh from both his parents as he pitifully groaned again and headed home.

* * *

**Please review! I'd love to hear what you guys think so far!**

**~Risa**


End file.
